In a society obsessed with instant gratification, novelty, and conspicuous consumption, itís easy to dismiss fashion design as frivolous. Skirt lengths and platform heights appear inconsequential when juxtaposed with real-world concerns like climate change, economic strife, water shortages, and hunger and malnutrition. But if you consider the fact that clothing is something in which we envelope our bodies every single day ó and which uses a ton of natural resources to produce ó to ignore the apparel industryís environmental and social impact would be negligent, not to mention foolhardy.

Cool name and cool products. reMade USA is a design company that upcycles used materials to make one-of-a-kind products. Their first line is a range of bags made from used leather clothing and scrap. these unique bags are produced in limited quantities with only 10-14 bags available at any one time. Each bag is a limited edition of one and bears its own serial number that reflects its uniqueness.

One item touches every article of clothing and is touched by every customer. Itís the ubiquitous, invisible clothing hanger. Itís so prevalent, so insignificant that no one sees it, no one thinks about it, no one cares about what happens to it when it gets thrown into the box under the counter after a sale.
Where do all those thousands upon thousands of hangers go at the end of the day? Alarmingly the vast majority end up in landfills via the storeís dumpster. How many hangers are we talking about? The landfilled waste they create world-wide would fill 4.6 Empire State Buildings each and every year. The annually trashed 8 billion invisible plastic and metal hangers entering out municipal waste stream are now becoming a very dire issue.

Jeans are America's most used piece of clothing. Some people wear them until they'e truly unwearable. The more faded and more holes, the more they loves them. But there comes a time when these items just become unwearable. Denim is a prime fabric for recycling and there are many creative ways to recycle blue or any color jeans, make everything from backpacks to book covers.

Eco-friendy now has a broader meaning. It now embraces socially conscious
products, ranging from art and clothing to food and music instruments. They can
be products produced by fair trade, or recycled material. The products are
classified as either People Positive, Eco Positive, Animal Friendly or Supports
a Right Cause. According to the Natural Marketing Institute, the USA market for
these types of goods was $209 billion dlls in 2005, and the group projects that
will rise to $420 billion in 2010. As more users take responsibility for their
shopping habits.

Being a fashionable and yet environmentally responsible woman can be more than challenging at times. This is especially so when dealing with quests for cute specialty clothing... like bikinis. Luckily for all of us, though, eco bikinis are getting easier to find each day and they're becoming hotter every season.

"Open source" is a term that's used mostly in Software, no so in the fashion world. A new German label, however, has embraced the principles of open source in its launch of a new line of eco-conscious clothing. Eco clothing lines are increasingly common, but the sharing of designs takes it into new territory in the fashion world.

Whether it's printer cartridges, beverage containers, cell phones, eyeglasses, plastic bags or clothing, recycling products benefits not just the environment but also pretty much everyone involved. Thanks to increased consumerism, discarded clothing for instance, finds its way into landfills at an alarming rate, including one million tons of the stuff each year in the UK alone.

According to the statistics, 386 million pounds of textiles enter the NYC waste stream annually, or about 6% of total waste. Wearable Collections is a charity initiative leading the effort to reduce textile waste in a city traditionally known for disposable, seasonal trendy styles. The organization is placing recycling bins in designated buildings throughout New York for the collection of unwanted garments and clothing.

Consumers are concerned with the environment and want to be associated with brands that are too. Los Angeles-based nvohk, aims to create the first community-managed, environmentally conscious, surf-inspired clothing company where members have the opportunity to make critical decisions that not only affect the direction of the brand, but also make a positive impact on the world around them.
This is one more example of the customer-made trend, in which they are given a chance to contribute to a productís design or features, also called "crowdsourcing".